For the mechanical binding of articles, in particular cable harnesses, by means of tie loops, the ends of which are held by tie ratchets, the tie ratchets are fed to the binding tool in the form of a magazine strip in which the tie ratchets are connected to one another by flexible webs which in each case are cut in the tool before use. If the webs are severed only by one cut, projecting stubs remain behind. It is certainly also known to avoid these stubs by the webs being removed essentially completely by two cuts executed at their ends. However, this results in scrap, which in many applications (for example in aircraft or satellite construction) must not be left in-situ in an uncontrolled manner and is therefore undesirable. The invention therefore assumes that a stub piece remains on the ratchet when the web is severed. This stub piece may be sharp-edged and may lead to a risk of injury, in particular if the separating cut is not executed in the center (EP-B-297 337, FIG. 3) or if it is arranged on a laterally projecting flange (U.S. Pat. No. 4,610,067, FIG. 1). But even when the web is cut symmetrically and projects directly from those walls of the ratchets which are parallel to one another, it is relatively long in relation to the dimensions of the ratchet (U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,834, FIGS. 6 to 8).